Category: Russian Universities

Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

Source: Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University –

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The Belarusian-Russian University hosted a scientific and practical conference with international participation, "II BRU-SPbPU Ecological Week." Representing St. Petersburg Polytechnic University were Marina Petrochenko, Director of the Institute of Civil Engineering; Associate Professor Mikhail Romanov, responsible for the institute's international activities; and three graduate students and one master's student from the Institute of Civil Engineering.

The conference opening was addressed by Viktor Pashkevich, Vice-Rector for Research at BRU, and Marina Petrochenko, Director of the Institute of Social Studies at SPbPU.

"Cooperation between Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University and the Belarusian-Russian University extends beyond this international conference. It encompasses joint research, academic mobility for students and faculty, and the development of educational programs," noted Viktor Pashkevich.

Marina Petrochenko welcomed all conference participants and emphasized the importance of the event for developing environmental awareness and promoting sustainable solutions in environmental engineering: "The development of engineering technologies must be closely linked to ensuring the environmental safety of cities and populations. Trends such as green design and construction, the circular economy, intelligent environmental technologies, and social and environmental entrepreneurship must become a central part of our professional and educational agenda. We are especially pleased that young people—the specialists who will implement innovative solutions—are actively participating in this process."

The opening ceremony also featured welcoming remarks from BRU Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs Natalia Vologina, Dean of the BRU Faculty of Civil Engineering Olga Golushkova, Head of the BRU Department of Technosphere Safety Alexander Shchur, International Affairs Director Mikhail Romanov, and Rossotrudnichestvo Representative in the Republic of Belarus Yuri Makushin.

The conference featured plenary and breakout sessions, where participants presented over 40 papers across six thematic areas, both online and offline. The conference brought together over 150 specialists, representatives of universities, research institutes, and undergraduate and graduate students from six countries.

Under the leadership of Rossotrudnichestvo, a Rosatom State Corporation exhibition was organized, showcasing cutting-edge technologies and environmentally responsible solutions in the nuclear industry. Guests were also treated to a tour of the BRU laboratories, the University Museum, and a sightseeing tour of Mogilev. A collection of papers will be published based on the conference results, indexed by the Russian Science Citation Index (RSCI).

"Holding such events is an important area of our joint work, contributing to the strengthening of scientific and educational ties within the Union State, the development of international academic cooperation, and practice-oriented collaboration in the ESG and environmental fields. We are convinced that the Ecological Week events have made a significant contribution to the development of scientific dialogue, strengthened mutual understanding and friendship between our countries, and inspired participants to pursue new achievements and projects," noted Yuri Makushin, representative of Rossotrudnichestvo in the Republic of Belarus.

Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source. It represents an accurate account of the source's assertions and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

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Source: Official website of the State –

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On October 24, 1935, the first five-pointed star was installed on the Spasskaya Tower of the Moscow Kremlin, replacing the double-headed eagle. Why was this decision made, and what are the stars made of?

Symbol of the new power

The question of replacing the imperial eagles on the Kremlin towers with figures symbolizing a new period in the country's life has arisen repeatedly since 1917. Several proposals were made regarding what exactly to replace the heraldic eagles with: the USSR coat of arms, gilded emblems, etc. The "star of Mars with a plow and hammer" symbol was approved by order of the People's Commissar of War and the Navy, Leon Trotsky, on May 7, 1918.

Initially, the star was a military attribute, the wearing of which threatened civilians with court martial. After the Civil War, it was incorporated into the flags and coats of arms of the USSR and the Union republics.

Thus, the five-pointed red star became a symbol of the state and the dominant ideology, complementing the complex official coat of arms. During these same years, its new symbolic meaning emerged: the five rays represent the five continents that would soon unite under the banner of communism.

The stars aligned

In the first years after the Revolution, the authorities lacked both the financial and technical capacity to replace the eagles. In 1930, at the request of the NKVD, art historian and restorer Igor Grabar conducted an expert assessment of them. He determined that "none of the eagles currently on the Kremlin towers constitutes a historical monument and cannot be protected as such." In late 1931, the cost of installing a new symbol of power was approved—over 95,000 rubles, a colossal sum for the time. Work began in August 1935.

Incidentally, the last documentary reminder of the Tsar's eagles over the Kremlin was Grigory Alexandrov's 1936 film "Circus": the imperial decorations can be seen in the final scene of the athletes' parade on Red Square.

Star matter

Initially, the artist Yevgeny Lanceray was tasked with preparing sketches of the stars, but Stalin twice returned his drawings, demanding the removal of first the "center circles," then the "fastening sticks." After this, Yevgeny Lanceray was removed from the project and assigned to theatrical designer and academician Fyodor Fyodorovsky.

The stars were welded from high-alloy stainless steel and covered with gilded copper sheets. The new symbols became true works of art—68 kg of gold were used for their manufacture, each adorned with a hammer and sickle weighing a total of 240 kg, as well as over 7,000 gemstone inlays, including aquamarines, amethysts, topazes, rock crystal, and alexandrites.

Each star differed in its artistic design. For example, the star on the Spasskaya Tower was decorated with rays radiating from the center to the top. The star on the Trinity Tower had rays shaped like ears of grain, the Borovitskaya Tower had a pattern that followed the outline of the five-pointed star itself, and the Nikolskaya Tower star had no design at all.

To ensure the Kremlin walls could support the weight of the new symbols, the brickwork of the towers' upper floors was reinforced and additional metal bracing was installed around the perimeter. The Nikolskaya Tower's tent was completely dismantled and rebuilt.

Little star, shine!

However, the first stars quickly lost their beauty and luster: in just two years, the stones had become dull and the coating had become smoky. Furthermore, they were disproportionately large and did not fit well with the architectural ensemble.

In May 1937, it was decided to install a replacement made of ruby glass and replace the amber ones with internal lighting. This was intended to prevent the figures from rusting and make it easier to remove soot and dirt. Another innovation was the creation of a fifth star for the Vodovzvodnaya Tower.

People's artist Fyodor Fyodorovsky redefined the shape and design of the stars, proposing a ruby-colored glass and different sizes so that they would look identical from the ground.

The recipe for ruby glass was developed by glassmaker Nikanor Kurochkin, who later supervised the melting and processing of the material. It was he who proposed creating stars with double glazing: the inner surface was made of milky glass, without which the ruby glass would appear black during the day, and the air gap between the layers diffused the light sources within the star. For his outstanding achievements in glassmaking, Kurochkin was awarded the Stalin Prize.

During the Great Patriotic War, the stars suffered significant damage and were reconstructed from 1945 to 1946. The internal lighting and cooling mechanisms were improved, and the glass was laminated using a special technology.

The everlasting light

The Moscow Kremlin's star illumination operates around the clock, with the lamps burning more intensely during the day than at night to maintain their ruby glow. They have an independent power supply, so the Kremlin symbol won't fade even during a power outage, and the new-generation energy-saving bulbs don't produce carbon deposits, maintaining the star's constant brightness.

Apart from wartime and post-war renovations, the stars were turned off only once: in the mid-1990s during the filming of The Barber of Siberia, at the personal request of director Nikita Mikhalkov to President B.N. Yeltsin.

Subscribe to the "Our GUU" Telegram channel. Publication date: October 24, 2025.

Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source. It represents an accurate account of the source's assertions and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

Source: Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University –

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Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University held the grand opening of the third cohort of the "Leaders of the Future St. Petersburg" educational program, which aims to develop students' leadership and entrepreneurial skills.

The program is being implemented in partnership with the Polytechnic University and was created in 2023 at the initiative of Anton Vasiliev, founder and CEO of the construction company PSK Group, and Anastasia Davydova, a methodologist for the development of leadership and entrepreneurial competencies and a resident of the New Formation Regional Center.

The program's partners are representatives of the business community:

Evgeny Koryakin, founder and CEO of ITS; Yuriy Mozheiko, Commercial Director and Partner of GLASSCON LLC; Roman Chuyko, co-owner of the Arte Group of Companies.

The new cohort brought together 170 participants—students from leading universities in St. Petersburg and other regions of Russia—who are studying in both in-person and online formats.

Dmitry Tikhonov, Vice-Rector for Continuing and Pre-University Education at SPbPU, addressed the participants with a welcoming speech, noting that the program contributes to the development of human resources in the city and country, strengthening the links between education, business, and real-world practice.

Andrey Mishkin, head of the St. Petersburg regional branch of New Formation, expressed support for the initiative, emphasizing that the development of such programs is part of New Formation's federal agenda, aimed at nurturing a new generation of entrepreneurs and public leaders who act in the interests of society and the country.

During the opening, representatives of partner companies shared personal stories and management experiences, while graduates from previous cohorts spoke about their own projects, career achievements, and the results of their participation in the program.

The "Leaders of the Future St. Petersburg" program brings together the university and the business community, creating a space where students gain not only knowledge but also the practical experience necessary to realize their leadership potential in a professional environment.

Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source. It represents an accurate account of the source's assertions and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

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Source: Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University –

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Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University and the St. Petersburg Regional Public Organization "Association of Veterans of the North Caucasus Military District 'Defenders of the Motherland'" signed a strategic cooperation agreement, laying the foundation for the further development of their partnership.

Under the leadership of Vice-Rector for Continuing and Pre-University Education Dmitry Tikhonov, representatives of SPbPU held a working meeting with the chairman of the regional public organization "Association of Veterans of the North-West Military District "Defenders of the Motherland" of St. Petersburg, holder of the Order of Courage Georgy Zhuravlev, and the head of the organization's district branch in the Kalininsky District, a participant of the North-West Military District, Andrei Goncharov.

The partners discussed key issues of cooperation in the areas of patriotic education, social rehabilitation, continuing education and professional retraining, as well as the development of a volunteer movement to support veterans of the Soviet Military District, opening up new prospects for collaboration between the university and the association. Polytechnic University staff shared their comprehensive experience and plans for working with military personnel and residents of new regions. Participants in the dialogue included Natalia Chicherina, Director of the Humanities Institute; Anna Rubtsova, Director of the Higher School of Linguistics and Pedagogy; Tatyana Savekina, Director of the Center for Corporate and Network Continuing Professional Programs; and Tatyana Nam, Director of the SPbPU Dobro.Center.

Georgy Zhuravlev discussed the association's activities, including assistance to veterans of special military operations and their families, patriotic education of children and youth, basic military training, preserving military-historical memory, social adaptation of military personnel after injuries, education, employment, and more.

The Polytechnic University is consistently and systematically building support for participants and veterans of special military operations. Cooperation is developing both large-scale project of SPbPU — from identifying educational needs and building a partner network to designing digital tools and implementing adapted retraining programs. Coordination is carried out by the Directorate of Continuing Education and Industry Partnerships, together with the university's specialized institutes, ensuring the integration of engineering and humanities training with social support mechanisms and creating conditions for veterans' professional and personal fulfillment.

The signing of the agreement was a logical continuation of the active volunteer work that Polytechnic has been conducting for three years with the state foundation "Defenders of the Fatherland" in St. Petersburg as part of the All-Russian campaign

Volunteers at the Harmony Center provide comprehensive support to SVO participants and their families.

Humanitarian aid: collecting, delivering, and assisting with loading humanitarian aid for children, residents of Donbas, and those at the front; assembling tactical first aid kits and holiday gifts; making tactical bracelets, plush amulets, and talismans. Work in the regional headquarters warehouses. Cultural support: organizing concerts in military hospitals, providing excursions and escorting participants of the SVO to cultural events. Patriotic education and mentoring development: meetings between students and SVO veterans in the "honest conversation" format; organizing courage lessons for schoolchildren in the Kalininsky district with the participation of veterans. Social assistance: accompanying the families of SVO participants, organizing family lounges. Meeting at the train station and accompanying children from the new regions on vacation in the Leningrad Region. Escorting soldiers to medical examinations in city medical facilities. Hospital supervision: since April 2025, the SPbPU Harmony Center has been the supervisor of the military hospital at the L. G. Sokolov North-West District Scientific and Clinical Center.

The agreement will strengthen cooperation in educational and social spheres, providing veterans of the North Caucasus Military District with opportunities for professional development and participation in addressing key issues in the country's technological development. This initiative is fully aligned with the goals of the federal program "Priority 2030" and aims to unlock the potential of veterans for the benefit of Russia's technological leadership.

"We believe the discussion about the various training options for special military operation participants and veterans should be more active and systematic. In this regard, cooperation with the association will allow us to more accurately define training formats, program topics, and required modules. And most importantly, to present a model that works at the regional and federal levels," noted Dmitry Tikhonov, Vice-Rector for Continuing and Pre-University Education at SPbPU.

Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source. It represents an accurate account of the source's assertions and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

Translation. Region: Russian Federation –

Source: Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University –

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A two-day meeting of the Consortium of Aerospace Universities of Russia has begun at the Kazan National Research Technical University named after A.N. Tupolev (KAI). Rectors of relevant universities, scientists, and representatives of the public sector will discuss strategic issues of personnel training and technology development.

Opening the meeting, Mikhail Pogosyan, Rector of the Moscow Aviation Institute, emphasized the importance of working together in the context of education reform and preparations for the results of the Priority 2030 program. Kirill Okhotkin, Rector of KNITU-KAI, announced the meeting's program, which included a tour of the university's scientific facilities, and expressed hope for expanded cooperation between the universities.

Yuri Fomin, Vice Rector for Research at SPbPU, presented the university's promising research. The Polytechnic University is developing research areas in the field of trusted AI systems and platform solutions for developing industry-standard AI models. Particular attention is paid to developing domestic technologies capable of replacing imported equivalents.

"Our projects under the Priority 2030 program demonstrate how fundamental research in artificial intelligence is becoming the foundation for practical solutions," noted Yuri Vladimirovich. "The POLANIS multimodal data analysis platform we developed is cross-industry and promising for solving problems in the aircraft industry and space technology."

Consortium participants will visit KNITU-KAI laboratories, including the Intelligent Radioelectronics, Microelectronics Process Diagnostics, Electromagnetic Compatibility, and the Kazan Quantum Center "KAI-Quantum" to assess the university's competencies in aeronautical engineering, radiophotonics, and additive manufacturing.

The meeting will identify new areas for joint research between leading industry universities, aimed at implementing scientific developments and strengthening the human resources potential of the Russian aerospace industry.

Photo: kai.ru

Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source. It represents an accurate account of the source's assertions and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

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Source: Official website of the State –

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RVB Company (United Company Wildberries

The Interdisciplinary Olympiad includes a range of general education subjects: computer science, economics, social studies, English language, and additional areas such as financial and management literacy, public speaking fundamentals, and project management.

"At the Russian Higher School of Economics (RHB), we are creating a comprehensive educational ecosystem for the development of future entrepreneurs—from school to professional development. Our joint Olympiad with the State University of Management (GUU) 'Future of Business' is a chance for Russian schoolchildren to prove themselves and take their first steps in entrepreneurship," said Tatyana Kim.

The organizers prepared cases specially developed by leading RHB specialists and the faculty of SUM: problems and tests in mathematics, computer science, social studies, and English. Participants will receive career advice from experts, points for admission to SUM, certificates for finalists, and gifts from RHB. Any Russian student in grades 9-11 can apply by November 17 on the "Future of Business" Olympiad website.

"The Alexandrovsk Commercial School, which later became the foundation of the State University of Management, trained entrepreneurs and businessmen even before the Revolution and was associated with many famous representatives of the Moscow merchant class. All these years, we have continued and developed the traditions of Russian entrepreneurship, trained specialized specialists, organized thematic excursions, opened entrepreneurship classes, and now, together with the Russian Higher School of Management, we will be implementing an Olympiad for talented schoolchildren who will one day develop our country's economy," shared Vladimir Stroyev, Rector of the State University of Management.

In November 2024, Wildberries

Subscribe to the "Our GUU" Telegram channel. Publication date: October 24, 2025.

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Source: Official website of the State –

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At the State University of Management, schoolchildren were shown how theory becomes technology and how ideas become startups. The master class for 10th- and 11th-grade students was held under the auspices of the RosGeoTech Advanced Engineering School (AES), a project implemented by the M.D. Millionshchikov Grozny State Petroleum Technological University (GSOTU) in collaboration with the State University of Management.

Revived technical thought

Before the master class, Andrey Luzhetsky, Director of the Advanced Engineering School, addressed the participants with a welcoming speech. Maxim Pletnev, Head of the Scientific Research Coordination Department at the State University of Management, spoke about the extensive work of the RosGeoTech Advanced Engineering School (1)—a project that covers cutting-edge areas of the Russian economy, including alternative energy, power engineering, the oil and gas industry, and autonomous unmanned and robotic systems.

The future starts now

The central part of the program was a presentation by Nikita Akinshin, a specialist at the Engineering Project Management Center at the State University of Management. "We're not just showing slides," the scientist said. "We're giving a glimpse into real projects that are changing the landscape of today."

Nikita Akinshin spoke about the restoration and extensive modernization of the LUAZ-967M, a Soviet SUV that engineers are transforming into a model of future technology. The vehicle is not only being restored, but also electrified, and equipped with driverless and autonomous control systems.

AI, drones, and anti-drones

A separate topic of the master class was developments in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The students were shown a model of a highly maneuverable, high-speed UAV and a portable anti-drone system designed to protect critical facilities.

Continuing the theme of advanced technologies, Nikita Akinshin discussed the role of artificial intelligence in engineering. He explained the principles of a hybrid decision support system (DSS), which combines machine learning (ML) and large-scale language models (LLM).

"The task of modern engineers is not only to design hardware," emphasized Nikita Akinshin, "but also to create intelligent systems that control this hardware and analyze data. It is at the intersection of these disciplines that the most breakthrough solutions are born."

The masterclass showed the students that engineering isn't some distant place, but here and now. Real-world examples and live interaction with experts helped the participants understand how technologies are born, inspiring creativity and the development of their own ideas.

Subscribe to the "Our GUU" Telegram channel. Publication date: October 23, 2025.

Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source. It represents an accurate account of the source's assertions and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.